Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      South Africa tables Starlink-friendly policy shift

      23 May 2025

      Computex 2025 – key takeaways from Asia’s biggest AI tech show

      23 May 2025

      Iqbal Survé’s Sekunjalo moves to delist controversial Ayo Technology

      23 May 2025

      US banks exploring launch of jointly developed stablecoin

      23 May 2025

      Apple smart glasses could be here next year

      23 May 2025
    • World

      iPhone designer Jony Ive to build AI devices with OpenAI

      22 May 2025

      First AI-generated drugs could go on sale by 2030

      22 May 2025

      Google, Volvo deepen partnership on car software

      21 May 2025

      Microsoft pushes for industry standards in AI agent collaboration

      19 May 2025

      Microsoft to lay off 3% of workforce in organisation-wide cuts

      14 May 2025
    • In-depth

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025

      South Africa unveils big state digital reform programme

      12 May 2025

      Is this the end of Google Search as we know it?

      12 May 2025

      Social media’s Big Tobacco moment is coming

      13 April 2025

      This is Europe’s shot to emerge from Silicon Valley’s shadow

      10 April 2025
    • TCS

      TCS | Reserve Bank fintech head Lyle Horsley on the G20 TechSprint

      22 May 2025

      TCS+ | Schneider Electric’s Clive Roberts on driving digitisation in the CPG sector

      22 May 2025

      TCS | Dalene Steyn on Capitec’s ambitious mobile gameplan

      21 May 2025

      Meet the CIO | Schalk Visser on Cell C’s big tech pivot

      13 May 2025

      TCS | Kiaan Pillay on fintech start-up Stitch and its R1-billion funding round

      7 May 2025
    • Opinion

      Solar panic? The truth about SSEG, fines and municipal rules

      14 April 2025

      Data protection must be crypto industry’s top priority

      9 April 2025

      ICT distributors must embrace innovation or risk irrelevance

      9 April 2025

      South Africa unprepared for deepfake chaos

      3 April 2025

      Google: South African media plan threatens investment

      3 April 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Motoring » Watch | Researchers turn dead birds into drones

    Watch | Researchers turn dead birds into drones

    Scientists in the US are giving dead birds a new life with an unconventional approach to wildlife research.
    By Agency Staff14 April 2023
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp


    Scientists in the US are giving dead birds a new life with an unconventional approach to wildlife research.

    A team at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro is taking birds that have been preserved through taxidermy and converting them into drones in order to study flight.

    Mostafa Hassanalian, a mechanical engineering professor who is leading the project, had found that artificial, mechanical birds had not given the results he was looking for.

    The current taxidermy bird prototype flies for a maximum of only 20 minutes

    “We came up with this idea that we can use … dead birds and make them into a drone,” he said. “Everything is there … we do reverse engineering.”

    Taxidermy bird drones — currently being tested in a purpose-built cage at the university — can be used to understand better the formation and flight patterns of flocks. That in turn can be applied to the aviation industry, said Hassanalian.

    “If we learn how these birds manage … energy between themselves, we can apply that into the future aviation industry to save more energy and save more fuel,” he said.

    Brenden Herkenhoff, a PhD student at New Mexico Tech, focuses his research on coloration and flight efficiency.

    Experiments

    While many think of a bird’s colour as a way to attract mates or use camouflage, Herkenhoff is studying how colour affects flight efficiency.

    “We’ve done experiments and determined that for our fixed-wing aircraft, applying certain colours can change the flight efficiency. And the same is true for birds, we believe,” he said.

    The current taxidermy bird prototype flies for a maximum of only 20 minutes, so the next stage is to figure out how to make it fly longer and conduct tests in the wild among living birds, Hassanalian said.  — Liliana Salgado, (c) 2023 Reuters

    Get TechCentral’s daily newsletter



    Mostafa Hassanalian
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleNvidia’s new RTX 4070 packs AI smarts
    Next Article TikTok ban could weaken personal cybersecurity
    Company News

    Kredete launches Africa’s first stablecoin-backed credit card

    23 May 2025

    Surface Copilot+ PCs for business: the future of work, powered by AI

    23 May 2025

    Turbocharge your business operations with a fibre internet line

    23 May 2025
    Opinion

    Solar panic? The truth about SSEG, fines and municipal rules

    14 April 2025

    Data protection must be crypto industry’s top priority

    9 April 2025

    ICT distributors must embrace innovation or risk irrelevance

    9 April 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.